The Internet has become a mainstream network for communicating not just data, such as email and pictures, but also for providing real-time bi-directional voice communications. Voice-Over-Internet-Protocol (VoIP) is an industry standard that has evolved to enable users to place phone calls through the Internet, instead of through the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). A conventional phone may now be connected to the Internet using an interface device that converts analog phone signals to digital signals that can be communicated through the Internet. A phone call may thereby be communicated through the Internet to a VoIP provider, who converts the call back to an analog signal and places the call through a PSTN that is local to the called phone. A user can thereby dial a telephone number in a conventional manner and have the call routed through the Internet, instead of through a PSTN.
However, some telephone services may only be available to users who make calls through a PSTN, and may not be available if the calls are instead made through the Internet. For example, when a user places a call to an emergency number, such as a “911” call, through a PSTN, the emergency call is routed to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP). The location of the caller and the phone number of the calling phone may be automatically communicated to a PSAP operator, who can then route the call to the proper emergency service provider.
Users who subscribe to VoIP services may elect to be assigned a telephone number that is not local to that user's local geographic rate center (i.e., a foreign telephone number). For example, a user who resides in Atlanta, Ga., may elect to have a telephone number that is local to Chicago, Ill. Accordingly, a VoIP telephone number may be forwarded to a PSAP that is not local to a caller, and/or it may not provide useful information on the location of a caller.